Hitachi has become the second Japanese engineering firm – along with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries – to express an interest in joining Germany’s Siemens in a possible bid for French company Alstom’s energy business. <br /><br />Katsumi Nagasawa, head of Hitachi’s power systems group, said the joint Siemens-Mitsubishi Heavy bid was “great news”.<br /><br />He added: “Mitsubishi Heavy is our partner. We want to work together with them.” <br /><br />They would be going up against US conglomerate General Electric. <br /><br />Siemens got involved after the French government objected to a US company taking control of what they see as strategic national assets. <br /><br />A three-party bid would mean more money and greater flexibility. <br /><br />The two Japanese companies – who already have a partnership in thermal power – reportedly want to buy Alstom’s steam turbine operations while Siemens is interested in the French firm’s gas turbine business. <br /><br />Two sources familiar with the Siemens-Mitsubishi plan have told Reuters it would not be a direct buyout of Alstom’s power assets but would rather set up one or several joint holdings in power generation. <br /><br />They added that Siemens was still ready to give Alstom its train business as part of the deal – although the French group has so far not shown much interest in such an asset swap.<br /><br />Such a plan could, however, address calls from the Paris government to favour partnerships over a straight sale of Alstom’s power arm – which accounts for 70 percent of group revenue. The politicians fear the company would be too vulnerable once it was reduced to its smaller transport business.<br /><br />Alstom and Siemens have not commented on the reports.
